Category: The Morning Offering

Therapeutic Tradition of the Church Most of us have been asked the question, “are you saved?”, at least once in our life. Having its origin in the protestant soteriology (doctrine of salvation), this question has clearly become part of our American cultural lexicon. The question is often asked by Evangelical

Resist the march to hades.

Righteousness is Not a Part Time Job Teachers and parents routinely remind children of the importance of refraining from giving in to peer pressure, knowing that good behavior can often be undermined by the desire to fit in with their friends and schoolmates. We adults need to remember that we,

If you’re going through hell, don’t stop.

God Infuses His Energies into the Icons The Old Testament God was revealed to us by Christ Jesus. Prior to the incarnation of the Logos, God’s people were forbidden to make any image of Him, for no one had seen His face. Yet when Christ said to His disciples, “he

The devil is calling for compromise. We must demand otherwise.

The Place of the Holy Virgin in Our Lives The Holy Virgin is a stumbling block for many protestants looking into Orthodoxy. The idea that this woman described in the Gospels in such humble terms could be called Mother of God seems unbiblical to them. She was never called Mother

“To whomever we give our heart, this person can harm us or abandon us. The spirits of wickedness are constantly putting evil thoughts into our feelings of love and preying on us. Divine love is boundless and all-encompassing, whereas we are attached to men and the lifeless things of this

Cremation versus the Orthodox Practice of Burial The first time I ever attended a funeral service where cremation of the body of the deceased had taken place was in Portland, Oregon, many years ago. An Episcopal priest friend had died and had requested his body be cremated. Walking into the

“Christians therefore ought to strive continually, and never to pass judgment on anyone—no, not upon the harlot on the street, or upon open sinners and disorderly persons—but to regard all men with singleness of intention and purity of eye, so that it may become like a fixed law of nature